Date: June 24, 2025
Time: 7–10 PM
Location: Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches
3220 Manor Rd, Austin, TX 78723
Join us on June 24 for a pop-up tablao at Batch! Texas Folklife presents an evening of flamenco music and dance, with a performance by A’lante Flamenco and an introductory talk by Olivia Chacón and Isaí Chacón.
About A’lante Flamenco:
A’lante Flamenco Ensemble, based out of Austin, Texas, excites audiences with a blend of traditional and contemporary flamenco music and dance.
A’lante Flamenco was formed in 2011 by Artistic Director/Choreographer Olivia Chacón and Music Director Isaí Chacón with the object of presenting flamenco to Texas and regional audiences in the freshest and most creative way possible. Since then A’lante Flamenco has grown in both size and vision, now incorporating 9 permanent members–5 dancers and 4 musicians–and producing popular traditional flamenco shows as well as innovative flamenco theater works incorporating multimedia and addressing relevant social issues. A’lante Flamenco’s work aims to reach audiences on a visceral level, provoking emotional responses through music and dance that crosses cultural and linguistic boundaries.
A’lante Flamenco presents original choreography and music with the goal of connecting with audiences via creative storytelling. Productions include The Red Shoes: A Flamenco Fairytale (2012); Prophecies (2014), based on the writings of Khalil Gibran; Desplazados (2015), in which company members told their personal stories of immigration and displacement; and Snapshots (2016); Sabor (2017); and Amor Fati (2019). In 2018, A’lante Flamenco’s production Juana: Primero Sueño, based on the life and work of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, garnered another Critic’s Table nomination for best Dance Concert.
Awards include: Austin Critics’ Table awards for Best Dancer 2012/2013 (Olivia Chacon in The Red Shoes), Best Dance Ensemble 2013/2014 (for Prophecies) and Best Dance Ensemble 2014/2015 (for Desplazados). The Red Shoes: A Flamenco Fairytale was also chosen as one of the “Best Dance Shows of 2012” by the San Antonio Express-News. A’lante’s newest production, Juana: First I Dream was nominated by the Austin Critics’ Table for “Best Dance Concert” for the 2017/2018 season. A’lante Flamenco is a member of the Texas Commission on the Arts’ Texas Touring Roster.
About Olivia Chacón
A’lante Flamenco Co-Founder and Artistic Director Olivia Chacón is a flamenco dancer, choreographer, and instructor with a uniquely powerful dance style and dynamic approach to teaching students. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Olivia has danced flamenco for over twenty years, and has spent five years studying flamenco and performing in Sevilla and Madrid, Spain with some of the world’s best flamenco artists. She spent two years touring internationally throughout Spain, Mexico, and Cyprus with the Cristóbal Reyes Compañia de Flamenco, and also performed as a soloist in flamenco clubs in Spain and Germany. Olivia aims to keep the dance form alive and well in this country by performing frequently throughout Texas and the region, and teaching flamenco to a new generation of dancers at her studio, Flamencura Music and Dance in Austin. In addition, she has been an adjunct instructor in the dance department of McCallum Arts Academy for the past twelve years. Olivia continues to present new work as a soloist and with A’lante Flamenco in the group’s performance space, the Flamencura Tablao, and on stages around Texas and the U.S.
About Isaí Chacón
Isaí is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of A’lante Flamenco. He is also the guitar, percussion and singing instructor at Flamencura Music and Dance, where he accompanies dance classes. Originally from Durango, Mexico, Isaí began studying guitar when he was ten years old. After absorbing the basics of Latin music in Mexico, Isaí relocated to Texas, where he studied music theory, jazz and composition, while simultaneously discovering his love of flamenco guitar and singing. After playing son cubano in Austin with bands like Soniquete and O Positivo, Isai left Austin to live in Madrid from 2003-2004, and again from 2006-2010, where he immersed himself in the flamenco world by accompanying many of Spain’s best artists in classes and performance. He was class accompanist at the famed Amor de Dios Academy for four years, and toured internationally with the companies of Laura Tabanera, Antonio Reyes and Cristóbal Reyes. Isaí performs frequently throughout Texas, and has collaborated with groups and artists including Graham Reynolds, Alex Ruiz, Del Castillo, Oliver Steck, Texas Early Music Project, Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance, Texas State University’s Vocalibre, and many individual flamenco artists. In recent years, Isai has appeared in films by Austin directors Kat Albert, Maggie Bailey, and Paul Shirley.